.A past U.S. paratrooper and stone entertainer restrained in Russia much more than a year back on drug fees was punished to 13 years behind bars on Thursday, the Moscow court unit's media company mentioned.Michael Travis Leake, that faced the Moscow-based rock band Lovi Noch, was actually apprehended in June 2023 after district attorneys indicted him of "arranging a medicine handling service entailing young people.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Courtroom located him bad of unlawful acts connected to the sale of unlawful anesthetics, the courthouse's press company said in a message on Telegram. He was actually punished to thirteen years in a maximum-security jail colony.Leake was put behind bars along with Veronika Grabanchuk, yet another offender founded guilty of drug charges. Her association to Leake was not quickly crystal clear.Arrests of U.S. residents in Russia have actually improved recently, in what Washington views as a Kremlin ploy to secure the launch of Russians sentenced abroad.Among other United States citizens held in Russian jails are actually previous marines Robert Gilman and Paul Whelan, as well as journalists Evan Gershkovich and also Alsu Kurmasheva.